Lao Shan Dong - Noodly Goodness

One cold wet day in December, we decided to try out Cattle Cafe in Burnaby. Unfortunately, the place was jammed packed with a 45 minute wait. We trotted over to Lao Shan Dong instead where the wait was a mere 5 minutes. This place has been around for years yet I never knew of its existence. They serve noodles primarily, but there are some other Taiwanese appetizers offered as well. We didn't try them this time around, but would likely be back to give their marinated stuff (pig ears, tendon or tripe to name a few) a try.

We didn't think just noodles would be enough, since we were pretty hungry. So we ordered a small plate of the Pork And Vegetable Dumplings. These are simply boiled and served without any soup. A small serving gets you 10 for $5 and a large serving of 15 will cost you $7.50. It's plain but they give you soy and vinegar to dip the dumplings in, but I opted for chili oil instead. These dumplings have a great mouth feel with a nice chewy skin and a good meat to wrapper ratio.

We tried their Ground Pork Sauce Noodle, which as you can see, is a non-soup, drier noodle. The ground pork is a little sparse, but the noodles were really good. You can tell these aren't store bought noodles, rather someone in the back is likely making them by hand. It's cooked to a perfect al dente texture and the porousness of the noodles really help it absorb the pork sauce. I just wish there was more of it!

I like a soupy noodle, so I opted for the Braised Beef Flank And Tendon with Noodle In Soup, Spicy, of course! The flank and tendon were quite aplenty here, much better than the pork sauce, I would have to say. Cooked to a nice meaty moistness, these were really well done. I liked the overload of green onions and a pickled mustard greens. It gave the whole dish a fresh and acidity that helps cut through the beef and broth.
Oh, and beware, cash only.